NHL Draft: Why the 2003 NHL Entry Draft Was the Best Ever

With the Los Angeles Kings' Stanley Cup win behind us and the 2012 NHL entry draft tonight in Pittsburgh, memories of previous drafts are beginning to surface.

Perhaps most notably, the 2003 NHL entry draft. It was one of the best draft classes ever and it featured current Kings Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown and Mike Richards.

It was one of the deepest drafts in history, with so many talented NHL players being taken in the later rounds. But first, let’s examine look at the first-round selections, many of whom have become household names.

Of the 30 first-round picks, every single player has played at least one NHL game. Fourteen have become NHL All-Stars, nine have won Stanley Cups and 12 have represented their country at the Olympic Games. While many others such as Nathan Horton, Mark Stuart and Patrick Eaves are enjoying great careers in the NHL.

With so many star players taken in the first round, it’s hard to imagine there could be many solid players left in the later rounds. However, scrolling down the list of draftees, even the casual hockey fan could point out numerous NHL players.

Second-round selections included Loui Eriksson (Dallas, 33rd overall), Patrice Bergeron (45th to Boston), Matt Carle, (47th to San Jose), Shea Weber (49th to Nashville), Corey Crawford (52nd Chicago), Maxim Lapierre (61st to Montreal), David Backes, (62nd to St. Louis) and finally, Jimmy Howard (64th to Detroit). This is a remarkable group of second-round picks. If this draft was done over today, Weber, Backes and Bergeron would likely go fairly early in the first round.

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Still not convinced? The later rounds boast further talent, including three depth players taken in the third round. Colin Fraser was drafted by Philadelphia with the 69th pick, Daniel Carcillo went 73rd to Pittsburgh and Clarke MacArthur was chosen 74th by Buffalo.

In Round 4, hockey’s social media king, Paul Bissonnette, was taken 121st overall by the Penguins. Kyle Quincey was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings later in the round, with the 132nd pick. Round 5 saw the Blues take Lee Stempniak 148th, while the Avalanche took Brad Richardson with the 163rd pick.

Joe Pavelski, a star forward with the San Jose Sharks and a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, was drafted 205th overall, in the seventh round.

Round 8 boasts two All-Stars, both of whom currently play for the Winnipeg Jets. Tobias Enstrom was taken 239th by the Atlanta Thrashers, while Dustin Byfuglien was taken 245th by the Chicago Blackhawks, who he would go on to win a Stanley Cup with in 2010.

Even the very last round (9) produced a number of successful NHL players. New York Islanders forward Matt Moulson went 263rd to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jets’ forward Tanner Glass was taken 265th overall by the Panthers, before signing as a free-agent with the Canucks. David Jones went 288th to the Colorado Avalanche.

There were also two goaltenders taken before the draft was over, the St. Louis Blues’ Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot. Halak went 271st to the Montreal Canadiens and Elliott was taken 291st, the second-last pick in the draft, by the Ottawa Senators.

The goaltending duo of Elliott and Halak took home the 2012 William M. Jennings award for having the lowest goals-against average in the league, not bad for a couple of ninth-rounders.

There are even a couple of solid players who went undrafted in 2003. Mark Giordano, a standout defenseman with the Calgary Flames and Antti Niemi, the first ever Finnish goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.

What makes this draft class even more impressive is the fact that an unprecedented seven 2003 draftees are currently serving as captains of NHL teams, while Mike Richards is a former captain. Plus, an additional eight players are currently serving as assistant captains with their respective teams.

A total of 14 2003 draft picks played in the 2012 Canada vs. USA Olympic gold medal game and over a third of the first-round picks have played over 300 NHL games.

Just five years ago, the 1979 draft may still have ranked above the 2003 version as the best ever. It featured great players like Mike Gartner, Ray Bourque and Kevin Lowe. However, over the last few years, players from the 2003 draft have started to enter their primes and play to their full potential. The talent and depth from 2003 isn’t likely to be topped in the coming years.

The 1979 draft was great and would have been even better had Wayne Gretzky been available, but it’s now been surpassed by the class of 2003, the best NHL draft of all time.